The Sacrament of Reconciliation is a comprehensive and accessible resource for undergraduate, graduate, and seminary courses on the Sacrament of Reconciliation. It offers an overview of the sacrament in terms of its anthropological, scriptural, historical, and theological roots as well as an analysis of the key components of the sacrament itself (matter, form, minister, recipient, etc.).
With the knowledge of a theologian and the skill of a historian, Robert Fastiggi links the Sacrament of Penance to its anthropological foundations, grounded in the recognition of human failure and the need for forgiveness. This anthropological foundation includes a brief overview of how non-biblical religions deal with sin and purification as well as the revelation of the human need for reconciliation presented in Sacred Scripture.